Ronaldo joins Iran’s Ali Dae in a rare breeze after connecting with a grand free kick shortly before giving Portugal a 1-0 lead. He doubled the lead and reached another stunning strike scoring 101 of his career in the 72nd minute. Dae’s men’s international record of 109 goals is the next goal for Ronaldo, who won 4–1 against Croatia on Saturday. He came back after his 165th cap days and immediately hit the milestone and then some.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Ronaldo’s tally is that only 17 of his 101 goals have come in the Allies, although he has certainly defeated European miners along the way. His seven goals have come versus Lithuania and Sweden, while he has scored five against Andorra, Armenia, Latvia and Luxembourg. Leaning forward in the goal of his centuries, he has six international hat tricks, 30 goals in World Cup qualifying and 31 qualifications in the European Championship. He scored seven goals on the World Cup stage and another nine in the Euro in his career.
Ronaldo is a distant and active leader in international goals in men’s football. India’s Sunil Chhetri (72) and Argentina’s Lionel Messi (70) are the closest. For the women’s side, 17 players have hit the Americans, seven of them with the 100-goal mark. Christine Sinclair of Canada is the all-time leader with 186 goals, two more than retired forward AB Wambach of the United States.
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